TVPast Forums - David Boreanaz on Playing Green Lantern

Any doubts about David Boreanaz’s excitement at voicing the role of Green Lantern were quickly put at ease the moment he walked through the doors of Warner Bros. Animation for his first recording session in late 2006.

Boreanaz quickly confessed that his green t-shirt was a subtle sign of his passion for the character. But, he confessed, purposely donning a pair of green socks that day should hammer home his enthusiasm at being cast as one of world’s favorite super heroes.

“I like to get into my characters – literally,” Boreanaz said from behind a wide grin.

The star of the Fox hit series “Bones” and the former lead in the cult-classic “Angel,” Boreanaz heads an all-star voice cast as Hal Jordan and his alter ego, the Green Lantern, in “Justice League: The New Frontier.” The highly-anticipated DC Universe animated original movie is due from Warner Home Video on February 26.

“Hal’s an interesting character – having been part of the Korean War, he’s kind of damaged goods, but yet he’s striving to get back to being himself,” Boreanaz said. “I think Hal’s sense of a duality is fascinating – his holding onto his past, overcoming it, and being heroic with it. It's about coming to an understanding of where your strengths are and where your weaknesses may be – and as an actor, to go into his dark place and work from there. I found that very appealing.”

Boreanaz achieved cult status in the Science Fiction world with his role as the vampire Angel, first on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and subsequently in the title role spin-off series. While Boreanaz said he doesn’t intentionally stay within the genre, he doesn’t avoid it, either. He said he looks for the most interesting roles, and that it’s hard not to like the kinds of stories told within the Sci-Fi realm.

“I think everybody, in a sense, can kind of lose themselves in this fantasy – I know I did,” Boreanaz said. “Where else can you partake in this level of adventure, in this amazing way of blowing things up in a fair and simple way without ever actually hurting anybody? It's just so enjoyable.”

Boreanaz had just one voiceover experience prior to his role in “Justice League: The New Frontier,” and that was as a character in the video game “Kingdom Hearts.” To that end, Boreanaz admitted that he did not know what to expect in recording for a film.

“The voice director, Andrea (Romano), was unbelievably fantastic in the way she guided me through Hal’s course of emotions, and really helped me get to know the character,” Boreanaz said. “Once I got my feet underneath him and really got into character, everything fell into place and we just flew through the script. It was a great journey.”

The three-time Saturn Award winner said his favorite scenes in “Justice League: The New Frontier” do not deal with the battle between good and evil, but in the divergence between the super heroes themselves.

“The edginess and the conflict between the characters is what makes this a great movie,” Boreanaz said. “Super heroes or not, these characters are going to go at each other at times. There’s a fusion of a lot of strong, different personalities, and although they all want to achieve the same goal, they might not have the same approach. And Hal knows how to get the job done. So there’s good balance and a nice edge to the story.”